Doll News Winter 2019 - 127

Little Nell, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield have stepped out
of a Charles Dickens story and into Liberty of London dolls.

The later Liberty dolls had hands, some of leather and
some of cloth. Fabrics for costumes were of felt, velvet, and
taffeta, for the most part. Some 'quilted' fabrics are often
used as underskirts of the wives of Henry VIII.
Attention was closely paid by the creators to
portraits and photographs for a duplicate in miniature
of the wardrobes. Dolls portraying adults were generally
9-½-inches tall and 5-½-inches tall for child dolls. Fabrics
and patterns varied on the dolls; for instance, the Ann of
Cleves doll can have variations of the material on the gown:
red velvet or taffeta or different patterns in the fabric.
A doll was created and costumed as a herald for the 25th
Anniversary of the reign of George V in 1935. There were
plans to create dolls for the Coronation of Edward VIII, but
it was not to be. The Baltimore Museum has a very rare
Edward VIII doll in its collection, created and hand-sewn
by two sisters, Ada and Kathleen Peat, from their Brighton,
England home. According to assistant director of the
Eugene Field House Museum, Stephanie Bliss, "Kathleen
made the bodies and faces, and Ada made the clothes."
Due to the large number of dolls produced, there were
others who helped to sew and create the dolls. American
importer, Elsie Krug of Baltimore, Maryland, had wanted
very much to meet the Peat sisters when she visited
England. She invited them to tea, but unfortunately, the
meeting never took place.
Americans visiting England would find these dolls for
sale and bring them home as souvenirs. Elsie Krug and
the Kimport Dolls of Independence Missouri, brought
the dolls to the attention of collectors in America. Prior to
that, dolls created for the Coronation of George VI (1937)
featured participants including: King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth, the Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth,
Queen Mother Mary, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Peer
and Peeress of the Realm, and the Ambassador to the
Court of St James, among many others.

Other Dickens' characters include, from left to right,
Mr. Micawber, Sariey Gamp and Mr. Pickwick.

During the Second World War, Liberty of London
suspended doll production, although some cloth British
soldiers created by the company were sold in the late
thirties. The company resumed creation and production of
dolls in 1948.
Elsie Krug's collection of Kings and Queens, Princes and
Princesses is held by the Baltimore Museum of Art and in
1997-98 her dolls were exhibited. Krug's dolls were donated
to the museum after her death. Her collection serves as a
key reference guide to identifying the royalty dolls.
Liberty of London also imported dolls by the Kimport
Company with a cloth label identifying them as "Kimport"
dolls. Kimport's publications included illustrations of the
Liberty of London dolls, which serve as a great reference
in helping to identify these dolls and the dates in which
these dolls were created.

Shown is the 1953 version of the royal family dolls: Queen
Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, with their children (very rare),
Anne and Charles.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Winter 2019
